Archives – April, 2017

Editor’s Note: The EU’s neonic ban has not helped Europe’s bees and is causing environmental catastrophe in Europe and beyond as conversion of land to agricultural uses increased to compensate for lost food production.

NFU Vice President Guy Smith said: “A blanket ban of neonicotinoids on outdoor crops would be devastating for farms across the country 1. The numbers of pests are rising across the country1 and dealing with these pressures is costly 2. Growing crops without these seed treatments could become very difficult.

National Week for the Control of Varroa

From May 1st to May 8th, beekeepers from all over France, both professional and amateur, are required to practice counting varroa, “the number one enemy of bees”. This week should also be an opportunity for beekeepers to exchange on best practices against this scourge.

The European Commission asked its scientific arm, the Joint Research Centre, to study the effects on farmers from its disastrous 2013 precautionary ban on neonicotinoids. The JRC released its study in January and the Commission has refused to act on it or publish the results. Politico leaked a copy last week (see: http://www.politico.eu/wp-conte…/uploads/…/04/JRC-study.pdf…) that shows how farmers are suffering, spraying crops more frequently with older, less effective pestic… See More

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Part 2 of my assessment of the leaked EU Commission study on farming after neonics. . . .

As I read the pages of this internal study on the effects of the Commissions 2013 precautionary ban, I am beginning to realise what a tragic farce this has become. Tragic for farmers, tragic for the environment, tragic for bees. Because chemophobes seem to have influence in Juncker’s cabinet, the Commission is not releasing this publicly funded study.
See p 112: http://www.politico.eu/wp-conte…/uploads/…/04/JRC-study.pdf…

The honeybee, which is responsible for pollinating $15 billion of American crops, is in trouble. But a crew of crafty scientists and activists is here to help—not just our bees, but our entire food system

The honeybee’s single biggest enemy in the U.S. and Europe is a parasitic mite aptly named Varroa destructor, first introduced to the United States 30 years ago, when it most likely hitched a ride from its native habitat in Southeast Asia on the back of an infected queen.

In a research essay published recently in the Journal of Economic Entomology, Robert Owen argues that human activity is a key driver in the spread of pathogens afflicting the European honey bee and recommends a series of collective actions necessary to stem their spread.

As reported by the Entomological Society of America, in the search for answers to the complex health problems and colony losses experienced by honey bees in recent years, it may be time for professionals and hobbyists in the beekeeping industry to look in the mirror.

Beth Eiring, quarantine and nursery specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture, is among those on the front lines of the fight for bee health in Montana, a state which typically ranks in the top five in the U.S. for honey production.

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“Bees are livestock,” Eiring said. “Treat them that way. Treat for varroa mites. Inspect them every week or couple of weeks. The days of just throwing them on the back 40 and having production are gone.”

Is the European Commission determined to dim the Enlightenment? I ask this because its behaviour in one specific instance goes so utterly with dogma and against evidence as to suggest that there is no longer even a pretence of respect for reason left in Brussels. It concerns bees.